Why Organization's Fail

Organization failure begins at the top. Rotary did not stop growing because people were not interested in joining local Rotary clubs. The number of people joining Rotary clubs proves that. It stopped growing because its leaders assumed it was in the business of supplying humanitarian services rather than in the business of creating Rotarians; they were product oriented instead of member oriented.

Red Text Note

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BORING--The middle
section of the talk is the same ineffective message that has been emanating
from senior Rotary leaders since membership began leveling off years ago. Data proves that many Rotarians are already
asking. Most Rotary clubs, data shows,
do not have problems attracting members.
Their problem is keeping them because they are not delivering value;
engaging them. Repeating a useless
all-you-Rotarians-out-there-need-to-do-is ask dissertation diverted listeners
valuable attention and time from critical issues and was a major missed
opportunity to exhibit transformational leadership.

COMPELLING--President Ron's personal experiences
vividly demonstrate that clubs and R.I. are not in the community service business;
their business is changing Rotarians' lives. That unknown president-elect of
the Rotary Club of Norman, Oklahoma, USA, found a way to make Rotary relevant
to a member; to
keep a future R.I. president from dropping out.
This relevancy delivered what that young attorney valued - engagement;
the opportunity to make a greater impact.
Just imagine how that Rotarian utilized R.I.'s attributes to impact the
lives of many others in his family, community, and the world, while changing
his own life in his journey to
Rotary's top position. His story personifies Who Rotarians Are; the business
clubs are in; and what clubs should be doing to retain and attract members.
That, President Ron, is sincere, relatable, and compelling and is the prime
substance of your presentation. Thank you.

LACKING--Other than talk about increasing
membership, setting numerical goals, and hounding
Rotarians to ask, what is our Association of Rotary Clubs actually doing to help clubs grow membership? Someone
will say Rotary Club Central, but I have yet to hear anyone address and sell
clubs on how it will help clubs retain and attract members. R.I.'s Strategic Planning process and twenty-two Regional plans are nice on paper, but if they do not address clubs' needs, they're useless. R.I.'s continued failure to use a member-centered approach to decision making and recommending club actions results in loss of focus. Rolling out yet another appeal for a simple act , 'the ask', is ineffective (See 2001-2002 membership spike) if the root causes of Rotary's excessive membership losses and R.I.
failures in identifying and recognizing Who Rotarians Are, what they value and the relationships and experiences Rotarian's seek are not systemically and consistently addressed.